The Commission will look into the "character and terms" of the agreements between these publishers and retailers for ebook sales. There are indications that these agreements have breached EU antitrust rules that prohibit "cartels and restrictive business practices."

"The Commission will in particular investigate whether these publishing groups and Apple have engaged in illegal agreements or practices that would have the object or the effect of restricting competition in the EU or in the EEA," said the European Commission in a statement.

Further explaining the background of the investigation, the Commission said it had carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of several ebook companies in March. Apparently, the Commission found enough evidence in those visits to proceed with the investigation.

According to Fortune, the investigation stems from a deal Steve Jobs cut with the publishers mentioned above in early 2010, which was allegedly designed to drive Amazon's ebook prices up. This is also why the European Commission's investigation is targeting Apple's iBookStore, not the much larger Amazon.

We've asked Apple for comment on the matter, but have not yet heard from them.

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